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Dennis Perera is a new generation dramatist and film maker who uses unconventional devices to convey his artistic vision. His yet-to-be released feature film ‘Three Wheeler Diaries’ used bold techniques, language and story line to create a disturbing tale of three young people struggling to survive by their wits.

He calls his second drama Gotaimbara Kolama a ‘psychedelic ritual,’ a definition which might be applied equally well to ‘Three Wheeler diaries.’ ‘Psychedelic’ could be interpreted as a visual assailing of the senses with rapid, startling changes in colour, tone and texture. These features were abundantly present in the film.

Going by that, Gotaimbara Kolama promises to be an interesting visual experience. But Denis Perera uses the term ritual in another context. Traditionally, ritualized dance and verse recitation has been used as a healing process, a folkloric psychiatric method applied to psychosomatic disorders.  Traditional rituals became fashionable and politically correct over the past decade.

But the dramatist’s use of ritual here is hardly traditional. Gotaimbara is a legendary figure, or a number of such legends coalescing into one. The most famous incarnation could be as one of the ten giants of king Dutugemunu. But the dramatist is not interested in the reality of the legend.

 

"But the dramatist’s use of ritual here is hardly traditional"

On the contrary, he uses the legend as a medium to project several themes. The play begins with a contemporary setting and then proceeds to enact the story within a historical frame. He uses conventional devices such as a narrator and masks,  a convention of Kolam theatre. Female characters are played by male actors, another convention.




But these conventions are used with an insidious purpose. Within the context of the drama, they work against convention. Gotaimbara is a traditionally a powerful, dominant male hierarchical figure. But he undergoes a transformation as the drama progresses, revealing a softer, feminine side.

Though Dennis Perera’s approach looks unconventional, even radical, he insists that he works within the mainstream. He says candidly that his principal aim is to please himself. He eschews formulaic devices, saying that conflict which is central to any plot line should remain outside.

Gotaimbara Kolama is partly funded by the Sunera Foundation and will be staged on Aug. 15 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute open air theatre.

Nino Araliya Jayakody, Nilanka Dahanayake, Amila Sandaruwan, Dilum Buddhika, Dhanushka Dias and Pradeep Ramanayake act in this play, while music is composed by Amila Sandaruwan.